Mark Buckingham is in awe of Andrei Arshavin after the Russian's display against the Dutch.
Mark Buckingham is in awe of Andrei Arshavin after the Russian's display against the Dutch
He may have missed the opening two games of Euro 2008, but Andrei Arshavin must be on his way to becoming the player of the tournament.
Many thought Russia coach Guus Hiddink had taken too much of a risk by including Arshavin in his squad, knowing the playmaker was suspended for the group matches against Spain and Greece.
But, following a sparkling showing in the 2-0 win over Sweden which secured a quarter-final berth, Arshavin took his level up another notch with a virtuoso display to knock out Holland in the last eight.
The Zenit St Petersburg star has been linked with a £10million move to the Premier League, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United all rumoured to hold an interest.
Bargain
On this evidence, that sum will be a bargain as Arshavin appears to have all the tools in his kit to be a huge success in English football.
He showed great strength on one occasion to win the ball off Johnny Heitinga and set up another attack, but obviously it is his technical ability which could see all 20 Premier League clubs beating a path to Zenit's door.
Arshavin forced a superb fingertip save out of Edwin van der Sar in the first half and had the keeper scrambling across goal in the second half after an audacious free-kick.
His clever reverse pass released Sergei Semak to cross for Roman Pavlyuchenko to score the opening goal and in the first period of extra-time he created a great chance for Dmitri Torbinski.
Another burst of pace in the second period of extra-time, followed by a cute cross to the far post, allowed Torbinski to restore Russia's lead before Arshavin got the goal his performance merited.
Reacting quickly and intelligently to latch on to a throw-in behind the Dutch defence, Arshavin drilled a shot, with the aid of a slight deflection, through Van der Sar's legs.
For me, he has similar characteristics and ability to the Tottenham-bound Luka Modric and it would be no surprise if Arshavin joins the Croatian in the Premier League next season.
Sneijder's Dutch drive
As for Holland, Ruud van Nistelrooy again showed his predatory instincts are working well with a diving header, and he has been linked with a move to Tottenham, should Dimitar Berbatov leave White Hart Lane.
The pick of Holland's outfield players was Wesley Sneijder and, if I was Manchester United, I would be snapping Real Madrid's hands off to take the midfielder as part exchange for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Reports have suggested Sneijder will be offered to United as a sweetener to secure Ronaldo and he displayed enough to suggest the Portuguese winger would not be missed too much.
Capable of shooting from all angles, with either foot, Sneijder also showed commendable drive and determination to help Holland get back into the game.
He whipped in a magnificent free-kick for Van Nistelrooy to equalise and he is another player who would be a welcome addition to the Premier League next season.
